Religion: The Immaculate Heart Rebels

It was a conflict of principles deeply held between a majority of the
Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Roman Catholic
hierarchy. For nearly three years, the nuns had demanded freedom from
the traditional rules of the cloister; the Vatican and the archdiocese
of Los Angeles insisted on fealty to religious discipline. Last week
the dispute ended with the largest exodus from Roman Catholic religious
life in recent memory.

About 315 of the 380 nuns decided to follow their president, Sister
Anita Caspary, in asking for dispensation from church vows. The request
will be granted. Rather than disband, they...